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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Having just arrived in Salt
Lake City my mind is on the Rootstech Conference. Luckily, among
the unpublished GeniMates profiles I have up my sleeve, is one from
Lorine McGinnis Schulze. Not only is Lorine an Official Blogger for the
conference she is also joining Amy Coffin, Audrey Collins and me on an
international panel to discuss Genealogy 2.0.

Are you a Hobbyist or
Professional Genealogist? I consider myself a hobbyist but I am a member of APG and OCAPG What, if any, formal or
informal studies have you undertaken that are relevant to genealogical
research? I'm completely self-taught in
all areas - both genealogy and being a genealogy webmaster

How long have you been
chasing ancestors?Ah that would reveal my age!
I started at age 14 and I'm a grandmother of 10

How did you get hooked on
genealogy? My father was always talking
to me about our Irish ancestors - wondering where they were from and when they
arrived in Canada. He knew nothing beyond his own grandpa. He died when I was
14 and I decided I would find out about those Irish McGinnis ancestors as a tribute
to him. And that got me started!

What is your day job? Genealogy. I'm retired from
my previous career and now I earn money from my various genealogy pursuits such
as the history-genealogy books I write.

What are your areas of
Expertise in Genealogy?Dutch in New Netherland
(present day New York), Ontario genealogy, Loyalist ancestry, ships passenger
lists are my main areas of knowledge

Please outline your
involvement in Genealogy Societies and Groups:I have cut back on my
Genealogy societies and now only belong to NYGBS, APG and OCAPGWhat are the lands of your
ancestors?Ireland, England, Holland,
Germany, France

What Family Names are you
Researching?Gosh there are too many to
list! Remember I've been researching a very long time - over 50 years. A few of
my surnames are McGinnis, Peer, Vollick, Van Slyke, Vrooman, Van Valkenburg,
Damen, LeRoy, Larroway, Shuart, Hertel, Burkholder, Fuller, SImpson, Stead,
King, Downey, Bell, Philpot, Elvery, Caspall, Jamieson, Johnstone.....

Who is your favourite
ancestor? Why?I have several that I feel
drawn to. But I guess the one I am most fascinated by is my Mohawk ancestor
Ots-Toch. In fact I wrote a book about her! She married a Dutchman in New
Netherland arounc 1640 and is documented in various land records and other
legal documents. She's also mentioned by a Dutch missionary who visited
Schenectady New York in 1660.

What ancestral city or
town would you like to visit? Why? I would love to go to
Katesbridge Co. Down Ireland because I believe that is where my McGinnis
ancestor came from.

What is your favourite
resource for genealogy? Ancestry.com hands down. I
visit every day and am always searching for new information. But I also don't
just search my direct ancestors - I search for all siblings and their families
in all generations. So I have a lot of individuals to look up. My 2nd fav is
FamilySearch.

Do you keep your genealogy
files on paper? Yes
Do you keep your genealogy
files on a computer? Yes

What genealogy software do
you use to record your family tree? FTM2011

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Although she shares my husband's family name, Ball, I don't think Karen is related to him. Our Ball ancestors come from different ends of the "Old Country".

I recently met Karen, a Canadian librarian, online through Google+ where I have found some new and fascinating genealogy contacts. I am most grateful that she submitted a profile for the GeniMates blog.

Date: 7 January 2012

Name: Karen Ball

Hometown: Kitchener-Waterloo,
ON

Are you a Hobbyist or Professional Genealogist? Hobbyist

What, if any, formal or informal studies have you undertaken that are relevant to genealogical research?

I hold a Master of Library and Information Science degree,
which included courses in archives management. I have also taken post-graduate
courses in archives administration and genealogy. In addition, I am a
librarian-archivist at the Kitchener Public Library, specializing local history
and genealogy.

How long have you been chasing ancestors?

10 years

How did you get hooked on genealogy?

I loved
the stories that my Nana told me about our family. The thrill of finding
evidence of an ancestor made their stories real. Like many, I waited too long
to ask all my questions before Nana and my father passed. For me, genealogy
connects me to the past and extends my current 'family' to newly found
relations. Being an archivist, I love learning about history and community and
seeing how those forces and factors influenced our ancestors decisions, actions
and lives.

What is your day job? Librarian-archivist

What are your areas of Expertise in Genealogy?

I am skilled in researching local (Waterloo County/Region) ancestors
using a variety of records - census, vital statistics, newspapers,
genealogies and databases. I love the thrill of the hunt...

Please outline your involvement in Genealogy Societies and Groups:

I am a member and archivist of the local historical society and have
conducted numerous workshops for the Library on genealogy topics. I am a member of both the Devon Family History Society and Glamorgan Family History Society.

My great-grandfather, Thomas Huxtable Ball - He was the only sibling of
six who left Wales to eventually settle in Canada. I admire his spirit
of adventure. He sailed to Montreal and then undertook a journey, by
rail, of almost equal distance, across Canada to settle in British
Columbia. Thomas was a plumber by trade, who, along with my
great-grandmother, Annie Amelia Turner, built a new life in Vancouver
for their family. My Dad remembered him as a very quiet, polite and
hard working man. I love his understated character and wonderful
achievements.

What ancestral city or town would you like to visit? Why?

I`d love to visit Penarth, Wales as this is the place where Thomas`
siblings lived and have stayed to this day. Plassey Street keeps coming
up as an address that I need to check out. I would also like to do some
more research there and to meet family members that I have recently
discovered.

What is your favourite resource for genealogy?

I find that I keep going back to the GENUKI website for top quality
information on the resources relevant to the counties and parishes that I
am researching.

About Me

I also blog as Geniaus - an ancient Australian ancestor hunter who was formerly a librarian, teacher and IT specialist. Fascinated by Web2.0 applications I spend every spare moment chasing ancestors and connecting with other genealogists.